In-vitro cell migration enhancing constituents from Decalepis hamiltonii, a plant used in the preparation of 'Pinda oil', a medicinal oil used in Ayurveda for wound management.

Decalepis hamiltonii, Wight & Arn. (Apocyanaceae) is a one of the raw materials used in the preparation of 'Pinda oil', a medicinal oil which is used for treatment of wounds in Ayurveda. Of the hexanes, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate extracts derived from the plant raw materials used to prepare 'Pinda oil', the hexanes extract of D. hamiltonii exhibited the highest mean percentage wound closure (75.1 ± 2.9) compared to the negative controls (1% DMSO in DMEM, 4.2 ± 1.2 and 100% DMEM, 4.1 ± 0.9) in the scratch wound assay (SWA). Fractionation of the hexanes extract of stem of D. hamiltonii led to the isolation of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (1) and a mixture of long chain esters of lupeol (2), which showed enhanced cell migration in SWA. It was observed that the esters of lupeol bind to the cell membrane and/or enter the cells during the SWA. It was found that these constituents are also present in 'Pinda oil' which may contribute to the enhancement of wound healing activity of 'Pinda oil'.